Past Events

PID-Keystone Nostalgia Nationals

If it is the end of September it must be time for the PID-Keystone Nostalgia Nationals with a weekend full of great fall weather and fantastic nostalgia racing.

Once again Jim Sinkewitz and Greg Miller put together a great line up of nostalgia racing that would please any fan.

The line-up included the Southern Slingshots, AA Ohio Outlaw Gassers, UMTR, Nostalgic Notions and the GLNFCC to name a few. The GLNFCC brought out six of their warriors.

First pair was the recently repaired Solid Rock Mustang driven by Rocky Ausec taking on the Sweetman Brothers Citation driven by Drew Sweetman. Showing that he is very happy to be back on the track Rocky came out with a great burnout. After what seemed to be a few minutes Rocky could not back up the Mustang so he drove off the track. Drew took the single with a 7.28.

Next up was Bill Walls in the Nitroflier II Omni taking on the Damn Yankee driven by Mark Horvath. The Nitroflier had a tense moment as it took a few attempts to get the Hemi to light. Bill did move first but the Vega caught up and took the win.

Last Pair was the Pol Cal Corvette driven by Johnny K taking on Kevin Johnson in the Quarter Pounder Trans Am. Kevin is coming off of a good outing at Beaver Springs earlier this month and is showing that he will be a car to reckon with, unfortunately he was a little anxious and turned on the red-light, the SBC ran an impressive 7.25.

After an afternoon of racing the sun set and it was time for funny cars under the lights. First out was the Damn Yankee taking on the mighty mouse Pol Cal Corvette. Both drivers were ready as John hit a .013 R.T. to Marks .050 R.T. John ran a personal best of 7.16 against Marks 6.93.

Next pair brought out the Quarter Pounder Trans Am against the Solid Rock Mustang. The Solid Rock team had to do some repairs from the first round but got the car back on track. Kevin took off first with Rocky chasing him down with a 7.51/181.97

Last pair was the Sweetman Brothers Citation taking on the Nitroflier II Omni. The Omni took off first with the Citation slowing at half-track. We later found out that the Citation spit out a spark plug and tube on that run.

Sunday rolled around and it was another beautiful day. After several rounds of brackets and other nostalgia cars it was time for the final run of funny cars. The first pair out was the Quarter Pounder Trans Am and the Nitroflier II Omni. Both cars left almost identically and it seem to be a pretty even race with the Omni taking the win with a 7.55 to the Trans Am 7.77.

Next up was a chance for the Solid Rock Mustang to redeem his first round beating from the Sweetman Brothers. The Sweetman Brothers took most of the morning to repair the head that was damaged the night before. So to say it was a tense startup would be an understatement. Rocky and the Mustang moved first but the Citation was not far behind, Drew took the win with a 7.13 187 to Rocky’s career best 7.22/184. Both teams were excited.

The final brought the mouse that roared against the old elephant, it was the SBC Pol Cal Corvette up against the K.B. Hemi Damn Yankee Vega. Both cars came out with entertaining burnouts and both teams were up for the challenge. John moved first with an impressive .011 R.T. and was holding off the Vega until about half track where the Hemi really starts to make its power. The Corvette ran a 7.18 with the Vega taking the win with a 6.90/199.4

We have been a part of this great event since 2007 and always look forward to it every year. Keystone Raceway Park is a great track and Jim Sinkewitz devotes many hours to this event all year long with several cruise-ins etc.

2016 has been a banner year with 16 events, plus the 9th Annual Pace Performance Funny Car Nationals. We look forward to 2017 as it will be our 10th anniversary for the GLNFCC and we feel this will be our best year yet.

Mark Horvath

Best Reaction Time

John Kwasniewski

Contingency Award

Winner: Mark Horvath

Runner Up: John Kwasniewski

Beaver Springs Labor Day Nationals

September 2nd & 3rd 2016 Beaver Springs Dragway, Beaver Springs, PA

Beaver Bob starts all big holiday weekends out on Friday night with a bang. This year he had Casey Jones with the Chattanooga Choo Choo and the Cannonball Express Jet Dragsters, plus the GLNFCC had two funny cars to entertain the huge crowd.

The funny cars were out first with the Damn Yankee Vega driven by Mark Horvath taking on the Detroit Thunder 56 T-Bird driven by Bill Hallett. Both cars left hard with the Vega out front first. About half track the T-Bird got out of the groove and the Vega took the win.

One more round on Friday for the funny cars and this time they switched lanes. It seem like there was some issues with the left lane as it was the Vegas turn to get sideways and use up the whole lane with the T-Bird pulling off the win.

Saturday the GLNFCC was out in force with six great funny cars, with all six making two passes for the day.

Photos by Frank Dragotta, Jr.

First pair out was the Damn Yankee Vega taking on the beautiful War Path Buick Somerset driven by John Cerchio. Both cars came out with great burnouts, they staged and the Vega was out first with a .02 R.T. It was a good thing as the mighty BBC tried running down the Vega and almost caught him at the lights.

Second pair brought the always powerful small block Chevy powered Pol-Cal Corvette driven by John Kawsneiwski taking on Kevin Johnson in the Quarter Pounder Trans Am. Kevin has been working on this car for a few years and this is its first full year of competition. The Corvette moved first with a .026 R.T. and held off the BBC for an impressive 7.32.

Last pair up was the Sweetman Brothers Citation driven by Drew Sweetman taking on the Detroit Thunder. Both cars are powered K.B. Hemis with three-speed Lencos, when two clutch cars stag it sound real cool with the 7500 rpm launches. The T-Bird seemed to pull through the lights and turned on the red light handing the win to the Citation.

As the day was winding down it was time to bring out the funnies for one last pass. First out was the Detroit Thunder taking on the Quarter Pounder. The Trans Am had some issues backing up so it was shut off and the T-Bird made a single with a 7.55.

Photos by Frank Dragotta, Jr.

Next pair was the Pol-Cal Corvette taking on the Citation. The little small block knew he needed to tree the big Hemi and John tried but turned on the red light -.022 but still ran a quick 7.39 with Drew running a 7.07.

Before the finals the Quarter Pounder was fixed and ready to make one more pass. Kevin came out with a killer burnout, a few more of these and he will be winning some burnout contests. Kevin made a great, straight pass turning off the clock with a 7.83.

The finals paired the War Path against the Damn Yankee, a rematch of the first round. Both drivers were having fun and seemed up for the battle, the Vega moved first and took the win.

The GLNFCC had not been to this track since 2008 and the crowd seemed very happy to have the funny cars back. Beaver Bob and crew had the track and facilities in tip top shape. We sure hope to have a chance to get back to Beaver Springs in 2017.

Peak Event Winner

Mark Horvath

Best Reaction Time

Mark Horvath

Contingency Award

Winner: John Cerchio

Runner Up: John Kwasniewski

Quaker City's Night of Fire

July 30th 2016 Quaker City Motorsports Park, Salem, OH

It is the end of July so it must be time for Quaker City Motorsports Park yearly spectacular. This year track management pulled out all the stops to have a full field of entertainment. They had the Supercharged Thunder, Southern slingshots, Rick Reams wheelstanding Firetruck, the GLNFCC, Jet Dragsters and of course the headliner the King Of Quake Bob Motz’s Jet Truck.

The day started out with a little rain but the sun came out and they were running bracket classes by noon. As the day progressed it got a little hotter but is was sunny. The crowd started to arrive and it looked to be an exciting event.

Well just shortly before the first round of exhibition the storms that seem to be going around the track finally decided to rain on the track. The rain stayed for a while and after it stopped it still looked like the event may not get off. The track personnel worked hard to get the track back into shape and the track was ready for more action by 7:30.

After several of the groups made their runs it was time for the funny cars. First pair was the Total Insanity Monza driven by Chris Massarella taking on the killer small block Pol Cal Corvette driven by John Kwasniewski. John left early turning on the red light, with the Monza taking the win with a 7.21.

Next up the gorgeous Warpath Somerset driven by John Cerchio, was up against the Sweetman Brothers Citation driven by Drew Sweetman. The Citation moved first with the Somerset going into violent tire shake, John got out of the throttle and had to be towed off the track. It was later determined that something in the rear end broke.

The rain stayed away for the rest of the evening but because of the first delay the evening drug on. It was somewhere around 12:00 when we rolled up for our last run.

The Pol Cal was up on a single since the Warpath could not make the call. John seem to get a hold of the track this pass with a 7.52. By now the track was already tricky and the dew had moved in hard.

The final pitted the Total Insanity against the Sweetman Brothers. Both cars came out with great long burnouts, Chris did a couple of old school dry hops. The Citation moved first but about half track the Monza reeled him in taking the win with a 7.50.

Thanks to Mother Nature it was a long night but the Quaker City Staff did a great job with the track surface.

The Peak Winners Trophy was presented to the Total Insanity Team.

The Good Vibrations Motorsports Reaction Time Award went to Drew Sweetman with a .050 light.

Peak Event Winner

Chris Massarella

Best Reaction Time

Drew Sweetman

Contingency Award

Winner: Chris Massarella

Runner Up: Drew Sweetman

Music City Raceway Funny Cars

July 9th 2016 Music City Raceway, Nashville, TN

Once again the GLNFCC brought their traveling funny car show to Music City Raceway. Last year when the group was at the track they fought the rain all day and then during the first round, the rain came down so hard the show was cancelled.

This year the rain came the night before with a big wind storm and caused a lot of damage to the area. The event was in jeopardy as the track had only particle power for most of the day. The power was finally restored and the event was back on.

As the crowd was still funneling in it was time to start the show. First pair was the Damn Yankee driven by Mark Horvath, taking on the NitroFlier II driven by Bill Walls. Both cars started up together and did their burnouts. Bill and the Arrow moved first but the Vega reeled in the Arrow just in time, taking the win.

Next up was the Pol Cal Corvette driven by John Kawsneiwski, taking on the Nimrod Mustang driven by Joey Haas. Joey was out first with a great .026 reaction time but ran into traction issues down track with the Corvette coming from behind to take the win.

It was time to put an end to the night so the funny cars came out for one last run. First pair was the Nimrod Mustang taking on the Nitroflier II Arrow. Both cars did their burnouts and staged. The Mustang moved first and both drivers fought hard to keep their cars on track as the traction went away with the sunlight.

The final pair was the Damn Yankee Vega against the Pol Cal Corvette. Both cars came out doing sideway burnouts. The tree lit and the Corvette moved first but the tree malfunctioned as there was not a red or green light. Mark tried to catch the Corvette but about half track got sideways and clipped a cone handing John the win.

As both cars staged it was noticed that one of the transformers on a telephone pole down track had sparked which is probably what caused the tree malfunction.

The Peak Winners Trophy went to The Pol Cal team.

The Good Vibrations Reaction Time Award went to Joey Haas driving the Nimrod Mustang.

The S & W Race Cars Contingency Award went to Pol Cal Team (Winner) and the Damn Yankee Team (Runner Up)

Thanks again to the fine staff at Music City Raceway for once again booking in The GLNFCC.

Peak Event Winner

John Kawsneiwski

Best Reaction Time

Joey Haas

Contingency Award

Winner: John Kawsneiwski

Runner Up: Joey Haas

Kil-Kare's Night Of Fire

June 30th 2016 Kil-Kare Raceway, Xenia, OH

It has been a long running tradition that Kil-Kare Raceway puts on their Night of Fire race the Thursday before July 4th. This year the lineup was K.C. Jones with his two jet trains plus a wheelstander, Hanna Motorsports had their two jet funny cars and the GLNFCC had four funny cars on the bill.

Since this was on a week night and an evening show the festivities got off to a quick start. Out first for The GLNFCC was the Blue Thunder Camaro driven by Monty Stotz taking on Bill Walls in the Nitro Flier II Arrow. After the pair did their burnouts the Arrow lost fire and had to be pulled off the track. Monty made a single, running a 4.80/144.

The next pair out was the Pol-Cal Corvette coming all the way from Hamburg N.Y. to take on the Damn Yankee Vega driven by Mark Horvath, this was the first appearance for the Vega this season. The Corvette made the move first but the mighty small block just couldn’t hold off the hemi. Mark took the win with a 4.48/154.

Well the evening was winding down and track management was working hard to get the show in under their 10:00 curfew. First out for The GLNFCC was the Nitro Flier II Arrow taking on the Pol Cal Corvette. Both cars came out with strong burnouts and staged. Again John was on the tree and pulled a whole shot on the Arrow. The big Hemi was running down the small block but John had the starting line advantage he needed. John took the win with a 4.72/137 to Bill’s 4.73/146.

The final pitted the Blue Thunder with a 4.80 against the Damn Yankee with a 4.48. Well Mark was in old form on this run, he came out with a killer full track burnout, getting the standing room only crowd on their feet. To top it off Mark laid down a great .03 reaction time. The Vega was out front and held on for the win with a career best 4.42/159. Monty was not far behind with a 4.68/150.

The Peak Trophy goes to the Damn Yankee team.

The S & W Contingency Award goes to Mark Horvath and the Damn Yankee team (Winner) and Monty Stotz & the Blue Thunder team (Runner-Up)

The Good Vibrations Motorsports Reaction Time Award goes to John Kwasniewski with a .02 light.

Again we were glad to have an opportunity to race at Kil-Kare Raceway once again, it is a great facility.

Peak Event Winner

Mark Horvath

Best Reaction Time

John Kwasniewski

Contingency Award

Winner: Mark Horvath

Runner Up: Monty Stotz

Nationals Night Of Insanity

June 25th 2016 I–57 Dragstrip Denton, IL

The Street Machine Nationals were in Dequenne, IL. for the weekend so I–57 management thought it would be a great opportunity to give the crowd something to do after they spent all day at the fairgrounds.

The I–57 staff put together a wild combination of exciting drag strip action, from Heads Up Drag Radials, Wheelie Contest, Chuck Barid’s awesome front engine dragster and four funny cars from the GLNFCC.

Gates opened at 6:00 and the crowd was pouring in, there was a constant line of vehicles trying to get into the track for a good 30 minutes. Somewhere about 7:15 we moved the show cars into the staging lanes to prepare for the show. The weather for the day was hot and miserable. Along with that came rain. It started to sprinkle and after about 30 minutes we moved the cars back to the trailers to wait it out.

After about an hour and a half the rain had finished and the track crew had the track clean, sticky and ready to thrill the capacity crowd.

First up for the GLNFCC was the Gold Coast Charger driven by Mark Horvath going up against Monty Stotz in the Blue Thunder Camaro. This was the first time the supercharged funny cars had run down the I–57 track and the crowd seem very eager to see these cars. As the cars staged the Charger moved first and it was a good old drag race with Monty just holding Mark off long enough to get the win.

Next up was the RoadShow Camaro going against the new comer in the GLNFCC ranks Joey Haas in the Nimrod Mustang Mach I. Both cars came out with some good old smoky burnouts. The Mustang moved first and crossed the stripe with a strong 4.67/145. The Camaro slowed about half-track as it seemed like they had a problem.

Well it was getting late and it was time to run the last round of funny cars. The Gold Coast Charger was set to run the RoadShow Camaro. Both cars left on cue with the Charger getting an ever so slight advantage. It was a wild side by side run as it seem like the track had lost some of its bite after it had cooled down. The Charger took the win with a 4.54 against Bill’s 4.77.

The final two pair pitted the Nimrod Mustang against the Blue Thunder Camaro. There was a good bit of excitement in the air as the spectators were on their feet to watch this final. Joey came out with a hard sideways burnout. The cars staged with the Mustang moving first. The Mustang made another strong 4.60 run taking the win.

I–57 has recently went over a big facelift and there are still things like new restrooms with showers and a nice covered sit down eating area to be finished. This facility is top notch. You need to stop by and check it out, you will not be disappointed. We look forward to another opportunity to run at this great facility in the future.

Peak Event Winner

Joey Haas

Best Reaction Time

Mark Horvath

Contingency Award

Winner: Joey Haas

Runner Up: Monty Stotz

Coors Light/WBVO Nostalgia Nationals

June 18th 2016 Wisconsin International Raceway, Kaukanau, WI

It was once again time for WIR’S annual nostalgia extravaganza. This year they put together a great line up, it was filled with Nostalgia Pro Stocks, a 1951 Studebaker Wheel Standing Fire Truck, the Chevy Rebellion Wheel Stander and Supercharged funny cars from the GLNFCC. It was a beautiful day filled with sunshine and temperature’s in the low 80’s.

After a round of bracket eliminations, it was time to bring out the show. First out for the GLNFCC was the Gold Coast Charger driven by Mark Horvath taking on the Mopar Crazy Challenger driven by Chris Schneider. Chris came out on fire with a .01 light but it was not enough to hold off the thundering Hemi as Mark fought his way to what would be low qualifier with a 7.14/190 mph.

Next up was the Blue Thunder Camaro driven by Monty Stotz taking on Dale Kuhn driving the Chasing My Childhood II Duster. The crowd seem to love the burnouts from these two cars. Both cars seem to struggle getting down the track but Monty was able to get control of the Camaro to take the win.

Next pair the Red Barn ‘Cuda driven by Bill Hallett was out against the recent Pace Performance Funny Car Nationals runner up, Streaker’s Ride Camaro driven by Ron Ooms. Both cars had way too much power for the tricky track but sure gave the fans a show. The Camaro was out first and had the ‘Cuda till about half track, then Bill was able to get control of the car and passed Ron for the win.

The last pass was a single with one of our newer members. Bill Walls out of Warren, OH driving the Nitro Flier II Arrow. Bill came out with a great burnout, this is a clutch car and it is exciting to hear these cars stag and bring up the rpms. Bill bounced his way down the track to an 8.44.

After more bracket eliminations again it was time for the funny cars. First out was the Nitro Flier Arrow against Streaker’s Ride Camaro. Ron did a better job figuring out the tricky WIR surface as he was able to hold off the Arrow with a 7.99.

Next up was the Chasing My Childhood II Duster taking on the Gold Coast Charger. The Charger came out with a smokey sideways burnout. The Duster left late and never recovered. Mark clicked off another great 7 second run.

It was time for the Red Bran ‘Cuda to take on the Blue Thunder Camaro. Bill came out with a real strong burnout, but while he backed up there was a loud noise and the motor went silent. Monty and the Camaro was on a single and he bettered his first round time also with a 7.61.

We had one last car and that was the Mopar Crazy Challenger. Chris brought the car out with a great burnout but it was soon to get better. As he was sitting at the line the crew adjusted the wheelie bars as they often do. Well I think they may have had them a little high. Chris staged and was trying to better his first round reaction time but turned on the red light, the car left real hard and brought the front end up high enough you could read the name of the manufacture on the oil pan. It was a spectacular photo opportunity. Chris got the car under control and still clicked off an 8.84 at 139 mph

It was time for the finals, this pitted the Gold Coast Charger with a 7.14 against the Blue Thunder Camaro with a 7.61. It was dark and the track was starting to cool down. Monty knew that he had either cut a great light or run faster than the Charger, well he picked the first and pulled out a red light. The Charger was starting to reel in the Camaro for the kill and about half track the car took a hard right to the center and hit a cone. It was never proven if the center line was crossed.

WIR is one of those old school tracks where the return road comes back in front of the stands, as the cars were brought back the spectators were screaming and clapping, this sure is a lot of fun when the crowd gets into the shows like this.

Thanks to Roger and crew, we had a lot of fun and hope to be a part of their future shows.

The Peak Trophy Winner was shared by The Gold Coast Charger and the Team.

The Good Vibration Motorsports Reaction Time Award went to Chris Schneider in the Mopar Crazy Challenger for the third time this year.

Peak Event Winner

Mark Horvath & Monty Stotz

Best Reaction Time

Chris Schneider

Night of Thunder

May 21st 2016 U.S. 131 Motorsports Park, Martin, MI

This year U.S. 131 Motorsports Park combined their annual Spring spectacular with the yearly running of The Super Chevy Meet. Along with acres of Chevrolet race cars there was the usual swap meet and Manufacture’s midway.

The added entertainment for the night was various nitro cars, six supercharged funny cars from the GLNFCC and The King of Quake, Bob Motz.

The first round of funny cars began with the Pol-Cal Corvette driven by John Kwasniewski taking on the recently repainted Overload Arrow driven by Jim Locsi. After both cars did their burnouts they did a short leave from the starting line, the fans seem to like this move. The Corvette moved first but the Arrow chased him down taking the stripe with a 7.33.

Next pair was the Roadshow Camaro driven by Bill Anderson taking on the always tough Solid Rock Mustang driven by Rocky Ausec. After two good burnouts the cars were staged with the Camaro moving first with a .013 light. Bill took the win with a 7.13 at 186 mph

Last pair out for the GLNFCC was the Shyster Corvette driven by Mick Tilley going up against the Gold Coast Charger driven by Mark Horvath. Nick had the Corvette screaming with a killer burnout. Mark took off first with a .007 light with the Corvette right behind, but Nick had a struggle to keep the Corvette straight, Mark took the win with a 7.04 at 191 mph

Once the sun had set it was time for the second round of show cars. First out for the GLNFCC was the Shyster Corvette, this would be a single as the Overload Arrow could not make the call. This pass the Corvette was on a pretty good run until about 3/4 track when the car started to move out of the groove and Nick had to muscle the car to stay in his lane.

Second pair pitted the Solid Rock Mustang against the Hamburg, NY Pol-Cal team. After two signature burnouts they staged. John was out first and clicked off an impressive 7.19 with the small block powered Corvette.

The final pitted the two quickest cars from the first round. The numbers coming into the finals showed that it would be a good race. The Gold Coast Charger had a 7.04 time in the first round with the Roadshow Camaro posting a 7.13. By now the track seemed to getting a little trickier as the track was cooling down. The cars staged with the Charger taking off first, at half-track the Camaro seemed to be reeling in the Charger at that point the Camaro seemed to get out of the groove a little and this allowed Mark the chance to take the win with a 7.17 to the Camaro’s 7.64.

Peak Event Winner

Mark Horvath

Best Reaction Time

Mark Horvath

Contingency Award

Winner: Mark Horvath

Runner Up: Bill Anderson

Outlaw Funny Car Spring Nationals

June 4th 2016 Accelaquarter Raceway, Harrisburg, IL

Saturday June 4th was to be the season opener for the track. New track manager Ed Beckley decided to bring in supercharged alcohol funny cars from the Great Lakes Nostalgia Funny Car Circuit to start the year with a bang.

Unfortunately, mother nature did not have cooperation in mind and she decided to rain on the parade. The event was postponed and rescheduled for the next day. Track management was on the horn and all over Facebook to try to get the word out.

To say that we were optimistic at best is an understatement. By the time the funny cars took the track the grandstands were full and there were cars parked all the way down the fence on the spectator’s side. Ed even brought in his old buddy Bret Kepner to entertain the crowd.

The day started with a full line up of bracket qualifying. At 1:00 it was time to bring out the funny cars for their Chicago style qualifying runs. This was to be a four car show but due to the rain out only three teams could stay for the Sunday show.

Out first was the Gold Coast Charger driven by Mark Horvath taking on a new comer in the group Joey Haas with his Nimrod Mustang. Both cars came out with some wild burnouts. The crowd saw a great race as the Charger was in front of the Mustang by just a nose.

Next up on a single was Chris Schneider driving John Troxel's Mopar Crazy Challenger. Chris started his burnout and got a little out of shape, he then did a short burst over the starting line to try to lay down a little more rubber. Once the car took off it was apparent that there was a little issue as the big slicks lost traction and Chris fought the car all the way down the track. This got the crowd cheering.

Second round saw the Challenger go against the Charger. Both cars wowed the crowd again with some good side by side burnouts. Chris seemed to get the Challenger down the track a little better this run but he was no match for the Charger running a career best 4.53 in the 1/8th mile.

Joey Haas finished this round with another clean pass down the track putting him in the finals against Mark Horvath.

As the day was coming to a close it was time to give the crowd one last round of funny cars. Chris Schneider was out to make one more attempt at trying to get down the track smoothly. This run did seem to go better but the old Logghe chassis was not cooperating on this day.

It was time for the finals with the new comer taking on one of the GLNFCC's founding members. The Nimrod team felt they had to up their game and changed blower pulleys between rounds. As both cars pulled up to the line the crowd was showing their support for their favorite driver. The two drivers did not disappoint as they came out roaring across the starting line filling the air with burnout smoke. Joey staged and brought up his RPMs and at that point Mark left early and handed the win to the Nimrod team.

Joey did it with honors as he made a 4.62 and pulled a .02 reaction time.

The Peak Winners Trophy was awarded to the Nimrod team.

Joey Haas was awarded The Good Vibration Motorsports Reaction Time Award with a .020 reaction time.

Peak Event Winner

Joey Haas

Best Reaction Time

Joey Haas

Contingency Award

Winner: Joey Haas

Runner Up: Mark Horvath

Dennis Salzwimmer, the leader of the Great Lakes Nostalgia Funny Car Circuit stands in front of the more than 2 dozen classic funny cars that gathered at this years 9th annual Pace Performance Funny Car Nationals held at Quaker City Motorsports Park's Nostalgia Classic.

It was Memorial Day weekend and it was time for the Quaker City Motorsports Park Nostalgia Classic and the 9th Annual Pace Performance Funny Car Nationals to roll into town. According to the entire North East Ohio meteorologist contingent it did not promise to be a dry weekend. As they often are, they were wrong at least in Salem, Ohio. Friday was sunny and pretty warm, Saturday was hot & sticky with one pop up shower and Sunday was just warm and cloudy.

This year we were pushing a weekend pass. Saturday Night was billed as Funny Cars under the Lights brought to you by Good Vibrations Motorsports with a special attraction; we added a new versus old funny car race with Bunny Burkett in the Avenger funny car taking on Scott Ringwood in the Mistress 78 Corvette. We also had a special Husband versus Wife race with Chris Massarella in the Total Insanity Blown Monza taking on Krista Massarella in her Temporary Insanity Monza. Plus there was plenty of time to hang out with all of the drivers during the night.

John Troxel's period-perfect funny car, Mopar Crazy, was on hand once again this year with friend and legend Roland Leong helping out. The Flying Butcher Chris Schneider took home the blown class Best Reaction Time Award sponsored by Good Vibrations Motorsports.

After a day of bracket racing it was time to start the Saturday night festivities. First out was the divorce settlement match race. The two Monzas came out with great burnouts and a few old fashion dry hops, both cars are painted identical so it was like double exposure. The way this was to work was each car would dial in from their career best ETs. Well the tree was not set correctly and the tree came down evenly. Krista did come out first and held Chris off till about half track and then the blown big block passed by for the win.

Next up was the challenge of new versus old. Matt Stambaugh driving Bunny’s car came out with the traditional half-track burnout with the American Flag waving proudly over the car. Scott Ringwood came out with a great burnout also. Both cars staged and Scott was out like a shot taking the win with a 6.43 over the Avenger.

After the feature there were several of the funny car teams making test passes trying to dial in their cars for the following day.

Jon Wall and his team brought the Fireball Monza tribute out to the Funny Car Nationals for the first time and took home the Peak Winners Trophy. Jon outpaced last years winner, Ron Ooms and the Streaker's Ride funny car.

After finishing up more bracket racing the sun had disappeared and it was time for some funny cars under the lights. Again several of the teams made test shots. The Massarella’s took the track once again. This time Chris took the nod and never looked back.

Once again the Bunny Burkett Avenger was set to take on the Mistress Corvette. After the two smoky burnouts the stage was set, Scott was out first and took the win. This was not a typical night for the Avenger and the crew stayed till the wee hours of the morning to try to solve the problems.

The Sunday sun came up early and the pits were already buzzing with activity. The crowd was treated to an on track photo session reminiscent of the old days with all 28 funny cars lined up on the race track for a photo shoot with the drivers standing proudly in front of their rides.

Winner of this years Injected funny car class John DeCort Burnout Award was Bob Daly and his Warhorse Mustang II from New Jersey. Bob also took home the Best Reaction Time Award at last years event.

After the photo shoot there was time for autographs and then the drivers were busy preparing their cars for the upcoming two round Chicago-style eliminations.

It was time for a few pre-race introductions with Bret Kepner the guest announcer and Dennis Salzwimmer who along with Quaker City Motorsports Park puts this great event together. Dennis explained that next year will be the 10th Anniversary of the Pace Performance Funny Car Nationals and he promised that it would be a 32 car field! The crowd seemed very excited with that announcement.

After the National Anthem the Total Insanity Monza and the Solid Rock Mustang came up and over the hill to lead into a tremendous burnout. The Mustang did not run strong as usual and the Monza took the win.

Another New Jersey team making their first Funny Car Nationals was the Injected Iron Outlaw Mustang II of the father and son team of Bob and Jami Russell. This beautiful car was painted by Sano's Custom Paint and lettered by Glen Weisgerber.

Tom & Steve Timoszyk brought out their recently finished recreation of Poncho Rendon’s Detroit Tiger Monza; they took on Jon Wall in another 70’s car, the Fireball Monza racing out of Massachusetts. Both cars put on a show for the crowd, the Fireball Monza moved first and put him into what would be the finals with a 7.02.

With almost 13 pairs of funny cars this was just some of the highlights.

It was after mid-day and the time was set to run the second round to see who would face one another in the finals. As an added treat Scott Ringwood agreed to give the Bunny Burkett team a chance to possibly go home with at least one win. Both cars seemed ready for the call. While backing up from the burnout the Mistress Corvette was shut off due to a broken blower belt. The two went back to the pits to regroup and would return at the end of the round.

Bob Toth driving Rocky Roxlau's Time Bomb thrilled the crowd with a big burnout that took the John DeCort Best Burnout Award back home to New Jersey.

The injected funny cars were first out with some very good runs. The car that caught everyone’s attention was the recently painted beautiful Iron Outlaw Mustang II driven by Jami Russell. This car was brought out at the end of last season and it will be a force to be reckoned with powered by an injected 426 Hemi.

Bob Daly and the Warhorse Mustang II came out with a Chi Town Hustler style burnout. Bob ended up taking the burnout contest in the injected class for both the first & second round.

The Pol–Cal Corvette hailing from Hamburg NY took on the Mopar Crazy Challenger which is tuned by Roland Leong. Chris Schneider pulled a whole shot on John and took the win with a 7.78 to a losing 7.57.

Paul Zona and his gorgeous DangerZone Vega came from Massachusetts helping represent the East team at their first Funny Car Nationals this year.

The Mistress Corvette was fixed so it was time for them to take on Bunny & the Boys one last time. Super-shoe Matt Stambaugh brought out the Avenger with a thunderous burnout. Matt was out first but the Corvette reeled him and took the win.

It was time for the finals, first up Frank Barnard in the Poison Arrow was up against the No Money No Funny Nova driven by Willie Johnson. These two cars have been up against each other in several finals. The Poison Arrow spun the tire right at the hit and never recovered with Willie taking the win.

The blown finals were next with Jon Wall in the Fireball Monza who ran a 7.02 taking on Ron Ooms in the Streaker’s Ride Camaro with a 7.09. The Monza came out first with a killer burnout. The two staged and it was a race to the finished with the Fireball Monza taking the win.

Bunny & the Boys had been working feverishly to try and determine what the problem was with the car as it had not ran up to par all weekend. They came out one last time as the show came to an end. The spectators that were still there were treated to a fine 6.27 run as they finally fixed there problem. This is probably the quickest run in a piston driven vehicle that this track has seen in some time.

The special awards that were handed out at this years event included The Burnout Award given in memory Of John DeCort who ran with the GLNFCC, Supercharged Warriors and owned a local chassis shop. It was presented by Friends of John DeCort.

It is very hard to put together a report that would do justice of running 55 funny car passes in 4 hours. It was a spectacular show with exciting runs and beautiful race cars. You don’t want to miss this event next year so mark the date on your calendar or on your phone: May 28th, 2017.

Bunny Burkett waves to the crowd on the way down to pick up her driver, Matt Stambaugh. Bunny was reeling from just having lost her father only days before and also having undergone surgery, but wouldn't be stopped from making it out to Ohio for a one-of-a-kind funny car race.

We want to thank Pace Performance for being the presenting sponsor once again this year. They also had the Pace Performance show trailer on display. The trailer has a big array of the products and engines that Pace Performance has to offer.

Thanks to Norm Fox and all of the Quaker City Motorsports Park staff that made this such a memorial event. The facility is top notch a pleasure to race at, as well as, attend as a spectator.

Thanks to Jim and James Maher of Good Vibrations Motorsports for sponsoring the Quickest Reaction Award and for again coming all the way from California to be at this years event.

Thanks to Peak Products and Blue Def for being the Event Winner sponsor. Also special thanks to Jerry Streb and Mike Klontz for helping make the event move along smoothly.